Book picks similar to
Through the Valley by Stephanie Erickson
fantasy
dnf
ebook
paranormal-romance
Thrall
Jennifer Quintenz - 2012
Together they’re doing a pretty good job of shrugging off the slings and arrows cast their way by the popular crowd when a new boy, Lucas, moves into the house next door. Suddenly Braedyn finds herself falling in love for the first time.But as her sixteenth birthday approaches, Braedyn discovers humankind is at war with the Lilitu, an ancient race of enticing demons that prey on human souls. Her father is a member of the Guard fighting against the Lilitu - and so are the new neighbors, including her crush, Lucas. As her world starts to unravel at the seams, Braedyn learns the right answers aren’t always clear or easy. And as for “good” and “evil” – it all depends on how we choose to act.Inspired by the ancient Mesopotamian myths of Lilith and her offspring, Thrall explores first love, strong friendships, and taking on adult responsibilities against the backdrop of powerful supernatural forces and life-and-death stakes.
Kiss of a Dragon
Alisa Woods - 2016
Five hundred years is truly enough for a man like me. A monster. Yet a ten-thousand-year treaty will die with me, if I don’t spawn a dragonling to take my place. My two brothers are no use in this task. It falls to me, the eldest by a hair’s breadth, and yet, I cannot face the horror of another sealing. Another death. Another woman’s blood on my hands. ARABELLA I was saved from death in a dark Seattle alley by an impossibly beautiful man who swooped in on golden wings. Now he’s taken me to his lair, opened my eyes to a world of immortals I didn’t know existed, and given me an impossible task—find him a mate. Then, and only then, will he set me free. He needs her more than he wants; she wants him more than she should; and the fate of both the mortal and immortal worlds depends on not just repairing their hearts, but finding a Love that’s True…
Call of the Dragon
Elianne Adams - 2014
The same vicious creatures that killed her mother four years ago are still on the hunt, and she’s the prey. She thought she’d come to terms with her solitary existence until Drake comes along, reigniting her dreams of family and belonging. His tall tales of a missing queen and the looming extinction of a race of people she never knew existed has her agreeing to go on a journey to Avalore. Traditions as old as time stand in her way as she tries to convince Drake that he’s her choice for a mate. With the enemy breathing down her neck, all she has to do is figure out a way to make it work before she ends up joined to some stranger, or worse, dead. Drake Sperwell has spent years searching for one woman, the Queen of Avalore. Time is running out. With the survival of their entire species hanging in the balance, failure is not an option. When he finds her deep in battle in New York City, all his prayers are answered. What he didn’t count on was his reaction to the woman, or his dragon’s need to claim her as its mate. Denying their chemistry might just kill him, but she’s off limits. Her destiny lies with her true mate in Avalore.
Carpe Noctem
Katie Salidas - 2010
Newly-turned vampire, Alyssa got a lot more than she bargained for when Lysander saved her from a pair of rapist on the college campus of UNLV. Immortality is not as pretty as all the books and movies had portrayed it, and Alyssa's having a hard time with the change."Becoming a vampire is easy. Living with the condition, that's the hard part."With danger looming on the horizon and the vampire hunters closing in, Alyssa will have to find the strength to accept this terrifying new reality. There's no turning back now. It's either, Carpe Noctem (seize the night), or final death.
Birthright
Jessica Ruddick - 2017
Anything would have been better than coming into her birthright of being a seeker for the Grim Reaper, an arrangement made by her fallen angel ancestor in exchange for his re-admittance to heaven. And she isn't just any seeker--she finds souls that have the potential for becoming angels and sentences them to death. A year and two souls into her role as a seeker with her conscience overflowing with guilt, Ava comes up with a plan to thwart the system. When it goes awry, she is forced to submit the name of a classmate, Cole Fowler, an ornery, rough around the edges guy who always seems to come to her rescue, whether she likes it or not. Her feelings for Cole prompt her to intervene, and she saves him from death, upsetting the Grim Reaper's agenda.While Ava schemes to find a way to save Cole, she learns he has some secrets of his own. She lets him believe he is protecting her, and not the other way around, until a final showdown with the Grim Reaper forces Ava to make choices Cole may never forgive.
Rise
Sierra Cross - 2017
the day it made me an orphan.Ten years ago, the Coven of Fire sacrificed their lives — my mother among them — to hold off an overwhelming demonic force. Now it's back. As a poorly-paid bartender, how can any of this be my problem? But Callie, another orphan of that battle, swears I'm the key to reviving the coven. And there's an incredibly sexy guardian stranded on my couch who's promising to help me stop the demons and keep the veil between the realms standing. One problem: I've never been able to use magic. Our local bad boy warlock assures me I have the talent, but even if I did, we don't have enough witches to complete a coven. The only way to survive is to pull together this pack of magicborn misfits, who have more secrets than spells, into a makeshift coven. Can we — three untrained witches, a sarcastic warlock, and an overly intense guardian — take back the city... before the demongate falls and the forces that killed my mother destroy us too?
Glimpse
Stacey Wallace Benefiel - 2010
At her sixteenth birthday party, held in the basement of her dad’s church, she finally finds the courage to talk to him. Turns out, the devastating crush is mutual.As Avery takes her hand and leads her out onto the makeshift dance floor, Zellie is overwhelmed by her first vision of his death; shocking because not only are they both covered in his blood, but they’re old, like thirty-five, and she is pregnant.Afraid to tell anyone about the vision, (she’d just be labeled a freaky black magic witch, right?) Zellie keeps the knowledge of Avery’s future to herself and tries to act like any other teenager in love. When they get caught on their way to a secret rendezvous by her mom and his dad, they are forbidden to see each other.Convinced that their parents are freaking out unnecessarily, Avery and Zellie vow to be together no matter what. They continue their relationship in secret until Zellie learns that their parents are just trying to prevent her and Avery from suffering like they did. The visions are hereditary, they’re dangerous, and if they stay together the visions will come true.Now Zellie must choose between severing all ties with Avery, like her mom did to prevent his father’s death, and finding a way to change Avery’s future.
Honor at Stake
Declan Finn - 2015
The other is a vampire.College freshman, Amanda Colt knows few people and wants to know fewer still. She enjoys fencing and prefers facing a challenge every once in a while. She is beautiful, smart, and possibly the most interesting person on campus.Then she finds tall, intense Marco Catalano in her fencing class. With a mind like a computer and manners of a medieval knight, he scares most people - but not Amanda.They both have secrets, for they are both monsters.As they draw closer, they must find the line between how much they can trust each other, and how much they can care for each other. Each carries a secret that can destroy the other. But they must come to grips with their personal drama soon, because a darkness rises around them. Bodies keep turning up all over New York, and an army of vampires closes in on all sides. They have only one hope - each other. The Love at First Bite Series
Honor at Stake (ASIN B07CS11F97) - 2016 Dragon Award nominee for Best Horror Novel!
Demons are Forever (ASIN B07D2DF4TM)
Live and Let Bite (Coming July 10th!) - 2017 Dragon Award nominee for Best Horror Novel!
Good to the Last Drop (Coming August 14th!)
Fallon
Valerie Zambito - 2012
The hallowed world of Emperica is everything she had ever hoped for as a mortal—immeasurable beauty, unconditional love and light. But, with affection for humankind still burning within her, she joins the Knight Caste to train as an angel warrior. As a Knight, she will give up her wings and return to the place that killed her to use her unique powers to search out and destroy the evil Kjin that roam the earth. As a Knight, she will stop at nothing to protect the mortals in her care.The elders warn her that the path she chose will be a solitary one. That she will not have the same bond with humans as she once did. But, as far as she knows, the elders had never met Kade Royce. When her duties place her in the path of the handsome former cop, emotions buried long ago rise to the surface and she is powerless to ignore the depth of her feelings for this young man. She knows instinctively that she has found what most people search their entire lives for. Ignoring the risks, she invites him into her world of danger, but soon their lives collide with explosive consequence. As a result, Fallon realizes with heartbreaking despair that she can no longer hide from the painful truth. In order for Kade to live, she must destroy him.
Edge of Magic
Jayne Faith - 2019
Professional thief by night. Haunted by what could have been . . .Between paying off a debt to a Fae mob boss, working as a professional thief, and keeping up with her busy three-generation household, Tara Knightley barely has time to eat and sleep. But thieving supports her family, and her mother’s life depends on the Fae mobster’s magic, so Tara can’t quit either job. She’s used to the juggling act, but sometimes it feels like she’ll never really have a life of her own. Then she learns of a bounty for a mysterious magical skull. The reward would bring her close to paying off her debt to the Fae mob, finally freeing her from the grip of her powerful, manipulative boss.She decides she must get her hands on that prize.But just as Tara is ready to go after the skull, her childhood best friend and crush, wolf shifter Judah McMahon, shows up unannounced and begging for her help. It’s been a decade since the falling out that ended their friendship, and Tara knows she shouldn’t get involved. She doesn’t have time for side projects or distractions. But Judah’s life is threatened, so Tara gives in. The deeper she gets, the more her orderly existence unravels. Suddenly, she stands to lose everything—her family’s home and security, her shot at freedom from the Fae mob, and a chance to make things right with Judah. How will she pull through?
Valhalla
Jennifer Willis - 2011
Playing sick from school in Portland, she’s casting rune spells during a rare astronomical convergence to bring about a better, happier planet — and hoping her parents don’t find out.What Sally doesn’t know is that the Norse gods are still around, albeit without their divine powers — Odin is a high school principal, and blustering Thor is about to lose yet another job as a photocopier repairman. But Heimdall has the perfect cover as a forest ranger while he and his kin hunt for the newly reincarnated World Tree and try to prevent Ragnarok, the literal end of the world that could be timed to the same alignment of stars.Instead, Sally stumbles across Managarm the Moon Dog, a lost god who seems desperate for her magickal help. But does he really share Sally’s vision of a more peaceful world, or are his intentions much, much darker? And what can she do about the ancient Berserker warriors she accidentally calls up, who pledge their allegiance and then demand junk food runs to Voodoo Doughnut and Burgerville?
Anathema
K.A. Tucker - 2011
Her foster parents have the emotional aptitude of robots and her classmates barely acknowledge her existence. About to turn eighteen and feeling like a social pariah, she is desperate to connect with someone. Anyone.When Evangeline meets Sofie after literally stumbling upon her café, she believes she’s found that connection. Willing to do anything to keep it, she accepts a job as Sofie’s assistant and drops everything to fly to Manhattan, where she is thrust into a luxurious world of Prada, diamonds, and limitless cash.With such generosity and kindness, it’s easy for Evangeline to dismiss certain oddities... like Sofie’s erratic and sometimes violent behavior, and the monstrous guard dogs. She’s even willing to dismiss her vivid dreams of mob-style murders, beautiful homeless people living in caves, and white-eyed demons that haunt her each night as figments of her imagination—especially when one of those figments is the gorgeous Caden. When she wakes up with bite marks on her neck, the fairy tale quickly turns into a nightmare. She slowly unravels the mystery surrounding Sofie and friends, and the reality of the bites and the “dreams.” What she discovers is far more mysterious and terrible than anything she could have imagined.In a world where everyone has motive to lie for personal gain, Evangeline must decide which deception is least likely to get her killed.
Veiled Eyes
C.L. Bevill - 2010
Thais. The trees sit on a black lake that resembles a dark Louisiana bayou with an evocative aura. The dream includes the presence of a man who seems to know Anna all too well and a group of people with strange telepathic powers, sometimes called veiled eyes. An orphan from Texas, she is on her way east to help out a friend when she encounters two terrifying things. Psychically, she begins to see and hear things through the eyes of an unknown individual, a man who knows more about her than she ever would have imagined. The second thing is that she has been kidnapped by a sociopathic trucker intent on making her his latest victim. When she is rescued by Gabriel Bergeron, a member of the elusive Lake People in Northwestern Louisiana, Anna doesn’t realize that he is her psychic counterpart and she has been inexplicably pulled to the area. She shares their strange colored gold eyes and their distinctive mental powers. They are a reclusive lot and know that Anna is one of them, but has been isolated by unknown circumstances. She is drawn into their incomparable world, something between that of the Creoles and Cajuns, and much in addition to those. There Anna finds a romantic link with Gabriel and the spine-tingling fear of not knowing who to trust. Her return has disturbed the inner workings of the group and threatens to expose secrets long concealed in the murky Louisiana bayous. There are secrets to be divulged about her past and why she was spirited away as an infant. Anna isn’t safe until she discovers the answers she so desperately requires.
The Den
Jennifer Abrahams - 2012
Skyla Jane Judge should know.Fresh on the heels of a breakup and college graduation, Skyla Jane Judge feels an inexplicable urge to accompany an attractive stranger on a road trip from New York to New Orleans. Maybe it has something to do with what a psychic has told her about a past life. Maybe some old friends stuck between lives are waiting for her there.Whatever the case, she gives in to the lure of Louisiana’s voodoo country and doesn’t look back. Longing for change, she uncovers a “den” beneath the haunted cobblestone streets of the French Quarter and, in the company of vampires, begins to discover her true self.Skyla embarks on a journey to self-awareness that ultimately uncovers a secret ceremonial path to love and eternal enlightenment. Though change is what she wanted, is she ready for the irrevocable change her “new” friends offer her?
Strange Brew
P.N. ElrodJenna Maclaine - 2009
In "Seeing Eye" by Patricia Briggs, a blind witch helps sexy werewolf Tom Franklin find his missing brother—and helps him in more ways than either of them ever suspected. And in Jim Butcher's "Last Call," wizard Harry Dresden takes on the darkest of dark powers—the ones who dare to mess with this favorite beer.For anyone who's ever wondered what lies beyond the limits of reality, who's imagined the secret spaces where witches wield fearsome magic, come and drink deep. Let yourself fall under the spell of this bewitching collection of short stories!